Drawing upon decades of experience, RAND provides research services, systematic analysis, and innovative thinking to a global clientele that includes government agencies, foundations, and private-sector firms.

The Pardee RAND Graduate School (PRGS.edu) is the largest public policy Ph.D. program in the nation and the only program based at an independent public policy research organization—the RAND Corporation.

No Child Left Behind Act Of 2001

Featured

In 2001, Congress reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act under a new name: No Child Left Behind (NCLB). NCLB established a number of new requirements for public schools, including changes to annual testing, teacher qualifications, and the allocation of federal funds. Today, RAND research continues to explore the impact of this legislation, inform public debate, and provide clear recommendations for the future.

As lawmakers consider the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, it is critical that in meeting their objectives they do not create unnecessary obstacles to the productive innovations being explored at schools, such as personalized learning.

In this February 2015 Congressional Briefing, education experts at RAND discuss the limitations of current accountability policies and how a reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act could promote more effective policies.

Federal policy should ensure that school improvement is a priority, that schools adopt proven reforms that fit the school context, and that schools and their districts are held accountable when federal resources are used for school improvement.

Will Congress be able to reauthorize ESEA in 2015? Success will depend on legislators clearing several hurdles, such as decisions regarding teacher quality, school improvement, and charter schools. And at the center of the debate remains the issue of federal requirements for testing.

Thirteen years of research have clarified that metrics like teacher experience and licensure reveal little about teachers' impact on student learning. The focus should be on disadvantaged students' access to effective teachers.

If we want testing to exert beneficial effects on teaching and learning, we need to advocate for higher-quality tests and for evaluation and accountability systems that use multiple measures and do not rely exclusively on test scores, write Laura Hamilton and Gabriella C. Gonzalez.

Both President Obama and Governor Romney have argued that while NCLB's goals of holding schools accountable and shrinking the achievement gap are admirable, the law is in dire need of adjustment. Both platforms do appear to be largely based on existing evidence from education research, with a few caveats.

In this Congressional panel briefing RAND researchers discuss the possible reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)--how it will require several critical decisions about standards, assessments, reporting requirements, and school improvement initiatives.

Laura Hamilton discusses what has been learned in the ten years since the No Child Left Behind Act was signed into law in January 2002, including recommendations for addressing key limitations as Congress considers reauthorization.

In this timely collection, leading education scholars challenge market-based models of school improvement and argue that merely holding teachers accountable for scores on end-of-the-year exams will not lead to educational improvement.

To improve schools, federal policymakers should consider state capacity, cost, and state politics and design policies that support more experimentation, evaluation, and dissemination of new knowledge while avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach.

Research conducted by

Topics

Related

Researcher Spotlight

Senior Social Scientist

Brian Stecher is a senior social scientist at the RAND Corporation and a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. His research focuses on measuring educational quality and evaluating education reforms, with a particular emphasis on assessment and accountability systems.

Social Research Analyst

Abby Robyn is a social research analyst at the RAND Corporation. Her research focuses on the implementation of educational innovations. She has extensive experience in collecting, analyzing, and reporting on qualitative data, including coordinating case studies, developing interview protocols,…

The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest.